trot / trät/ • v. (trot·ted, trot·ting) (of a horse or other quadruped) proceed at a pace faster than a walk, lifting each diagonal pair of legs alternately. ∎  [tr.] cause (a horse) to move at such a pace: he trotted his horse forward. ∎  [intr.] (of a person) run at a moderate pace, typically with short steps. ∎  [intr.] inf. go or walk briskly: he trotted over to the bonfire.• n. 1. a trotting pace: our horses slowed to a trot.2. (the trots) inf. diarrhea: a bad case of the trots.3. inf. a literal translation of a foreign language text for use by students, esp. in a surreptitious way: adult readers who can turn to translations without being penalized for depending on trots.PHRASES: on the trot inf. continually busy: I've been on the trot all day.PHRASAL VERBS: trot something out1. inf. produce the same information, story, or explanation that has been produced many times before: everyone trots out the old excuse.2. cause a horse to trot to show its paces.

trot gait of a quadruped between walking and running. XIII. — (O)F., f. troter (mod. trotter), whence trot vb. XIV; Rom. *trottāre, of Gmc. orig.; cf. OHG. trottōn (G. trotten), intensive f. base of tretan step, walk, TREAD.
Hence trotter (-ER1) trotting horse XIV; (pl.) feet of a quadruped, esp. used for food (?XIV) XVI.